Felicity
by A Fire in the Attic
Summary: When Kira comes into town, almost everyone is certain she's a dangerous witch. Scott's not so sure.


A/N: Day 3 of the OTP Feels Meme: Black

It's a totally rad witchy au, I think (all I could think about being black was kira's hair and I was like…? no. so instead I made it about a black cat kind of)

* * *

She rolls into town riding a white horse and wearing a dark green dress. There's a black cat slumped across her lap, blue eyes watching the townspeople serenely.

Her smile is genial, open, like she's completely harmless, but Stiles says she gives him the heebie-jeebies.

"The heebie-jeebies?" Scott repeats doubtfully.

"Shut up," Stiles snaps, scowling. "You know what I mean."

"I don't, actually," he says. "She seems nice."

"You haven't talked to her."

"Have you?"

"Well, no," Stiles admits, scuffing his feet a bit. "But Jackson says she cursed him."

Scott rolls his eyes at that. "It's not like you wouldn't curse him if you could."

"Yeah," he says, jabbing Scott in the stomach. "If I could. But she can!"

At this, Scott just rolls his eyes. "I don't think you're being very welcoming. She has a really nice smile."

His friend throws his hands up in disbelief. "And this is how you judge people?"

"It's how I judged you," he points out. "And Jackson. I think I'm going to bring her a welcome to the village basket."

Stiles makes another noise of frustration before leaving Scott's bakery.

Scott doesn't mind. Stiles always steals bread dough and messes up the shapes of his loaves.

He loves baking. His mother worked in the apothecary shop with Deaton, but she taught him to make a Solstice loaf when he was just 12, and since then, he'd never wanted to do anything else with his life. He became Finstock's apprentice, along with with Joshua Greenburg, when he was just 15, and eventually took over the bakery when Finstock made a fortune gambling and moved to the city.

Now, he bakes sweet breads and cakes alongside the sturdy and savory wares of Finstock's bakery. Greenburg still has a job here mostly because Scott feels bad for him—the boy is terrible in the kitchen. But he's good at cleaning and seems to like it, so Scott pays him as much as he would pay another baker.

But he's restocked his wares, and now he has time to make a basket of goods to welcome the mysterious new woman to town. People have whispered many things about her, but Scott hasn't really paid them any mind. He likes to get to know people before he lets the gossip about them take precedence.

What he has heard is that her name is Kira, and that her cat is spooky, always by her side.

He thinks he could like cats, given the chance.

It takes him a few hours to fully prepare the basket, especially because he has to keep going to the counter to sell bread to customers. Not that he minds making money, of course.

Still, he hangs a closed sign around midday. He's got a good amount of fresh bread that will really make her feel welcome. He's a great baker, after all, and everyone loves bread!

He doesn't have to ask around to find out where Kira is living, because she's just staying at the local inn until she finds a cabin. The innkeeper, Laura Hale, nods to him as he enters and eyes his basket hopefully. "Anything for me?"

He pulls a small paper bag out of his satchel and offers it to her. "Your favorite cookies."

"Oh, Scott," she says happily, and moans around her first bite. "I wish Derek had fallen in love with you instead of your silly friend."

"Laura!" Derek hollers from around the corner. "Stop it!"

"I won't tell," Scott calls back, grinning. "I'm actually here to welcome Kira to town. Is she here?"

"Aye," Laura says, squeezing one eye shut and regarding him thoughtfully. She looks ridiculous…and charming. "Down the hall, third door on the right."

He beams at her. "Thank you!"

"Anything for you, Scott." She winks broadly at him.

* * *

Kira opens the door after three rapid knocks. She's smiling sunnily and her cat is perched on her shoulder, leaning against her head. She doesn't seem to notice the added weight. "Hi," she says.

For a minute, he's actually stunned. He's never seen anyone with a smile like this. Maybe she is a witch, and she's already ensnared him.

Or maybe it's natural charm.

He's inclined to believe the latter, though if she were a witch, he wouldn't really mind. "Hello," he says, and holds out his basket. "I wanted to welcome you to town, with some bread."

Her smile grows impossibly wider. "Oh, how wonderful! Thank you so much. I thought everyone here disliked me. It's been dreadful, really. Would you like to come inside?" She steps back and gestures broadly, making her cat sway on her shoulder and grip her more tightly. She doesn't flinch.

"Oh, um, sure," he says, hastily stepping inside, still clutching the basket. Strange how he was suddenly so determined not to embarrass himself. Normally he didn't care, but he really wanted to impress Kira.

She's just so pretty, he thinks happily.

"Have a seat, have a seat!" she says, gesturing to a table. "And don't mind the books. It's a mess in here, but easy enough to clean up. I'm still looking for a nice little cottage to live in. For now, I have to do all my work here!"

"What do you do?" he asks.

"Witchcraft," she says brightly, and snaps her fingers. The books on the chair she'd been pushing him to immediately begin stacking on top of each other, and then off the chair and onto the floor, against the wall. "I make good luck charms, protection spells, aphrodisiacs—which I'll only sell to couples, as I do worry about people getting taken advantage of—and even hot chocolate mix!"

Stunned, he nearly falls into the chair. "Hot chocolate mix?" he repeats. His eyes must be comically wide now. He never would have suspected that people were right, that she was a witch.

Not that it was a bad thing. He still thought she seemed trustworthy.

"Oh, yes, but that's not really magic. It's just an old recipe I found while traveling! Here, I'll make you some." She sets a kettle to boil and then takes the other seat at the table. "I hope this isn't too much too soon. It's just that—I am very proud of my heritage. I don't want to hide it. And this is how I make money, so I do need to start spreading it around that I sell magic."

"No, it's—" He hesitates, a little unsure that he actually can lie to her open and hopeful face. "Okay, it's a little much, but it's not bad! I don't think you could be cruel. You have a kind smile."

Said smile returns. "That's so sweet! I like you." The kettle goes off behind her, and she hurries to the stove to take it off the heat. She takes two tea cups, spoons a brown powder into them, and then pours the hot water in after. "It's better with milk," she says, swirling her fingers over the cups. "But I don't have any of that right now."

"It's expensive," Scott says understandingly. "I'm sure it will still be delicious."

She smiles at him. And then frowns. "I forgot to introduce myself. Although I suppose you already know me? I'm Kira."

"Scott," he says, offering her a hand to shake.

"Scott, it's great to meet you." She takes his hand and shakes it briskly. "I hope we can be…friends." She blushes a bit at that, and then drops his hand. She reaches up and strokes her cat a few times. "This is Felicity. She's a good girl, hmm?" She lifts one of the saucers and sets it in front of him before grabbing the other as well. "Here."

He takes a sip as she sits down across from him. "It's delicious." He can see how it would be better with milk, but it's still rich and full of flavor. He wishes he'd thought of it first.

"Thank you," she says happily, and drinks some of her own. "Which bread should I try first?"

"This one," he says, tapping the Solstice bread. "My mother taught me to make it when I was just a boy. It's still my favorite thing to bake."

"And you made some for me? Thank you," she says, and breaks into it happily.

Her cat hops down from her shoulders and walks around the table to jump into Scott's lap. Felicity curls up there, rubbing her head against his stomach until she's satisfied, apparently, and then promptly falls asleep.

"Cute," Kira says brightly, and then proceeds to demolish the bread. "This is amazing."

He flushes a little. "I'm glad you like it," he says.

"I'm going to buy some every day," she promises. "As soon as I have money."

"I'll be glad to see you," he says. "And not because of the money." He is so smooth. Stiles would be proud.

She blushes again. "Oh. Me too. I mean—I wouldn't just come by for the bread."

He smiles at her and absentmindedly strokes the cat in his lap. Yeah. He could get used to this… He catches a glimpse of a clock hanging on the wall. He's been gone from the bakery for nearly an hour. "I have to go," he sighs, starting to stand up carefully.

Felicity wakes up and jumps down, meowing in what seems to be annoyance.

Kira stands, too. "It was really nice to meet you. I hope I'll see you soon."

"Me too," he says, smiling.

She smiles back, and they stare kind of dreamily at each other for several seconds, until Felicity meows again.

Scott jumps. "I—I have to go. Really. But come by the bakery some time."

"Sure," she says.

"I make cookies, too," he says hopefully.

Kira grins.

* * *

Later, he brushes the black cat hair off of his shirt and pants. It falls to the floor, and Greenburg sweeps everything into the fireplace to burn.

After that, Scott never burns another loaf of bread. Even Greenburg manages to pull a tray of cookies out before they get too hard.

"Did you do something?" he asks Kira the first time she comes to his bakery, a mere two weeks later.

"Nothing bad," she says, and Scott grins.

* * *

A/N: Originally posted on tumblr at imagreatbowler, and crossposted from AO3.

This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, whose goal is to improve communication between readers and authors.

This author invites:

-Short comments  
-Long comments  
-Questions  
-Constructive criticism


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